Koetter’s Quotes 7-29: Full Pads Coming On Monday

Bucs head coach Dirk Koetter spoke with the media following the second day of training camp on Saturday and answered a number of questions from reporters. Below is a transcript of his post-practice press conference.
(On the second day of practice)
“First off the fans, it was awesome to have the fans. The players love it when they have the fans out here, so that’s great. It’s good work for us to work in the rain. It’s really good work for us. We didn’t handle it great on offense. We had a couple issues, but that’s part of training camp. Vernon Hargreaves did a really nice job punching the ball out a few times today. DeSean Jackson and Chris Godwin made some big plays, but it’s day two. It’s a process we just have to keep moving along.”

(On Keith Tandy)
“What we learned about Keith is that he does a great job with preparation and he made plays. He made plays and that’s what you want. So, Keith is working with the first team right now and he’s going to be a hard guy to get out of there.”

WR DeSean Jackson – Photo by: Mark Lomoglio/PR

(On DeSean Jackson’s big plays)
“I didn’t have a great view of those plays. Based on the crowd I’d say they must have been good. Again it was a little bit sloppy because of the weather. They weren’t some of the most perfect passes I have ever seen in my life, but we need play makers. We talked about explosive plays and he makes them.”

(On Winston wearing a knee brace)
“Jameis was going to start wearing that brace yesterday. The brace they sent didn’t fit right so they had to get a new one sent in. We’re trying it out. A lot of quarterbacks in the league wear knee braces on one leg. That’s the latest and greatest technology. He’s trying it out to see how it goes. He doesn’t have any injury. There is nothing there. It’s all preventative and precautionary. We’ll see how it goes. Don’t go crazy on it. This isn’t the story of the day that Jameis had a knee brace on. We’ll see how it goes. He’s just trying it out.”

(On what positions he expects the most competition)
“Well probably kicker. Safety is a good one, then depth at wide receiver, depth at tight end, depth at linebacker, those are all good ones.”

(On J.J. Wilcox)
“It’s great to see him out he running around and helping. He made a few plays on the ball today. You can tell, he about took Reedy’s head off on one of those last ones. He’s a big hitter and that’s not going to show up for a few days, but I’m sure it will show up at some point. It’s good to have both him and Justin Evans out here working.”

(On Justin Evans)
“What we liked about Justin coming out of college was his range, his ball skills, and he’s also a big hitter. When the pads come on we need to see him be a consistent tackler, but we can’t really work on that right now.”

(On whether the slot corner spot is up for grabs)
“It is. We’ve got a good competition there. We have three guys that all started at slot corner in this league between Jude, Javien Elliot and Bobby Mac (Roberto McClain). They’re all battling right now.”

(On the defense improving on second down run/pass situations)

QB Jameis Winston – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“Well that’s confidence. The defense believes they can take the ball away and they feed off each other. Today it was Vernon Hargreaves. He got it out a couple times and fires the other guys up. They’re working on it every day and it’s great for our offense that they are so good at it, but our offense has to be a little smarter about putting the ball away. I thought we tried to force too many balls down the middle to the tight ends today. Anytime you force it in the middle and it gets tipped up, it’s going to get intercepted. It’s a catch 22. Good for the defense and the offense needs to learn their lesson.”

(On when pads come on)
“We’re in shells tomorrow. Shoulder pads tomorrow, per NFL rules. Two days in shorts, one day shoulder pads, and then Monday morning will be full pads. “

(On if today would have been good for the indoor facility)
“Unless there is lightning or we are in danger of ruining the fields we’re going to stay out. Just because this is South Florida. We can pump in artificial crowd noise and create a lot of different situation, but we can’t simulate the rain. Hopefully it’s just not every day.”

(On Marpet snapping a wet ball)
“I’m sure he got a lot out of it. One of those first ones he didn’t have his hands on. And he said he’s got to concentrate.

(On the mental aspect of snapping the ball)
“The mental aspect shouldn’t be an issue at all for him.”

About the author

Mark Cook currently is the director of editorial content and Bucs beat writer and has written for PewterReport.com since 2011. Cook has followed the Buccaneers since 1977 when he first began watching football with his Dad and is fond of the 1979 Bucs team that came within 10 points of going to a Super Bowl. His favorite Bucs game is still the 1979 divisional playoff win 24-17 over the Eagles. In his spare time Cook enjoys playing guitar, fishing, surfing and family time at the beach. In addition, Cook can be found in front of a television or in Doak Campbell any time the FSU Seminoles are playing. Cook is a native of Pinecrest in Eastern Hillsborough County and has written for numerous publications including the Tampa Tribune, In the Field and Ya'll Magazine. Cook can be reached at [email protected]